


Loving what I feel but it gets to me

by theghostielord (thedoodlelord)



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Mostly Canon Compliant, Post-Kyoto Arc (Ao no Exorcist), Soft Suguro "Bon" Ryuuji, gay pining, my friends claimed that this was a slow burn but i personally don't see it, the chapters very much read like missing scenes or build upon smaller scenes, the rest of the cram school is there too but not present enough to warrant tagging them lol, these boys blush so much its ridiculous
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-13 23:36:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28536750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedoodlelord/pseuds/theghostielord
Summary: A collection of missing scenes that show Rin and Ryuuji's friendship develop into something more. Starts the night before the exwires leave Kyoto.The two of them open up to each other and learn how to rely on each other along with them teasing (and eventually flirting) each other.edit: I changed the rating before i forgot i did include a couple of curse words in this fic lol, nothing extreme just typical teenage stuff.
Relationships: Okumura Rin/Suguro "Bon" Ryuuji
Comments: 16
Kudos: 84





	1. We met after dark and after hours

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was started in July of 2020 but I never got around to finishing it due to uh, some traumatic family stuff happening, which caused my hyperfixations to completely change (I'm currently hyperfixating on grimmichi rn if anyone's interested). I'm still working on Chapter 5 but I hope to finish this soon So I can post all the chapters. I haven't written fic since literally highschool, so please be nice ^^; I've never considered myself a writer so this is kind of a change of pace for me. Let me know if the formatting is weird, I've never posted on here before so I'm still trying to figure things out lol.
> 
> I wanna say a huge thanks to tonguetiedraven, she really helped me out back in the summer when I was writing this and obsessed with blue exorcist (y'know before I fell off the face of the planet lol). please check out her fics, they are absolutely amazing.

Rin’s tail wagged happily as he fidgeted with his new cellphone charm. He didn’t get why so many of his classmates were against visiting Kyoto Tower earlier that day anyway, it was totally rad, and they got a picture too, y’know even if they messed with him by spelling out Satan behind him. Well that had to be a good thing, right? They were accepting him for who he was, or at least he hoped so. 

Kuro shifted next to him where he was fast asleep lightly mumbling about silvervine sake. Rin figured he ought to return to his room at Suguro’s family’s inn soon; he vaguely remembered Yukio droning on about returning to True Cross Academy tomorrow, but he wasn’t certain, it was way too much of a drag to actually listen to all the boring stuff Yukio said anyway. Soft footsteps approached him, and Rin assumed he had managed to summon his brother to nag him.

“Okumura? What are you still doing up?”   
  
Oh. That wasn’t Yukio after all.   
  
“Ah, h-hey Suguro.”   
  
Suguro tilted his head slightly in acknowledgment to Rin’s greeting.   
  
“Well? Are you gonna answer my question?”   
  
“Oh, uh. I’m not really sure why?” Rin shrugged his shoulders and thought for a short moment. “ I didn’t really feel that tired, maybe it’s cause I spent most of yesterday asleep after passing out after the battle?”

Suguro breathed loudly through his nose in amusement, “It would be like you to not think too heavily about things”

Rin felt his cheeks flush, “h-Hey! I can think things through!” Rin’s voice got softer as he touched his pointer fingers together, “ I just, y’know don’t think it’s worth it to stress out about stuff I can’t control.” 

“Relax, dork. I wasn’t insulting you.” Suguro moved to sit next to Rin at the edge of the engawa that faced the herb garden. “Besides, maybe that’s not a bad trait to have. I’ve still got a shit ton of stuff on my mind which is why I can’t sleep.”  
  
Rin’s flush increased slightly, he’d never have expected for Suguro to talk to him so openly like this. He didn’t want to mess this up, he’d messed up so much with his friendships already.  
  
“O-oh. Is it about your dad? I mean, you don’t have to tell me or anything, aha” Rin said, bringing his hand to rub up against the back of his head, fervently wishing his blush to clear up. 

Suguro made a noncommittal grunt as his eyebrows furrowed slightly, “I don’t really know what to think or say about it anymore. I’m still pissed as hell, but I dunno. I guess I understand him a little more now. I still think he went about things the wrong way, though.” Suguro slouched and he was quiet for a moment before continuing.   
  


“I spent my whole childhood idolizing him and the Myou Dha and being able to uphold the title of head priest. And now-... and now it’s like I'm finding out that my dad always resented it.” Suguro paused and blushed, “O-oh sorry for dumping all of that on you, I didn’t mean to-”   
  
“It’s okay!” Rin’s eyes gleamed in joy, “I, listen, I might not always know the right thing to say but I don’t mind having to hear about this kinda stuff. I-I dunno if it would help any but, I could tell you about my old man? I mean, I know I went off on you before everything happened but, uh, anyway…” he trailed off suddenly feeling a little self conscious about his excitement, but he had never had a friend confide in him like that before, and for it to be Suguro of all people, he was so cool and had awesome piercings, and-.

Suguro knocked his shoulder against Rin’s, “Yeah that’d be cool, I really need to stop over thinking about everything anyway,” his face darkened, “and besides, we’re friends aren’t we? So, we should know more about each other or whatever.”  
  
Rin’s tail wagged in excitement, “uh, okay! Um well, huh? Have I ever actually told you that me and Yukio were raised in a monastery? I know you read your dad’s letter, but uh yeah our old man ran the whole place. He was actually the reason I learned how to cook. He said it was cause he had to teach himself all of this stuff and he wasn’t going to suffer alone, but I was really glad when he taught me. And besides I got way better at it than he ever managed.”

\--

“Oof” 

A pillow had been thrown at him, waking him up.

“Yo, Okumura, wake up we gotta leave like now or Kirigakure-sensei is gonna have our hides.”

It was Shima. Rin grumbled into his pillow that he’d get up as his pink haired class mate walked out the room grabbing his things. Ugh, he definitely did not get enough sleep last night, not that he regretted it. Rin’s cheeks flushed as he remembered the previous night, talking to Suguro about his dad. It was nice, he hadn’t really gotten to do that with anyone aside from the casual mention to Kuro but that was different. As friendly as the cad sidhe was, Kuro still wasn’t human and didn’t get a whole lot of things they did. Was this what friendship felt like? He hoped he’d get to talk to Suguro some more.

“Okumura-kun, you really need to get up now, we can’t miss the train and they’re gonna stop serving breakfast soon.” Konekomaru popped his head into the room that Rin had been sharing with Shima and Takara.

“O-oh, thanks Konekomaru, I’m getting up now.” 

Rin finally got up and started rifling through his things to get dressed. By the time he was dressed, had eaten breakfast, and grabbed all of his things all of the exorcists who were not a part of the Kyoto branch were saying their goodbyes. Rin stood with his classmates as Juuzo said his goodbyes to the Kyoto trio and Kinzo decided to attack his younger brother for having pink hair. And he thought his and Yukio’s relationship was weird, go figure.   
  
“Ah, Rin.. If you have any trouble with the kurikara, feel free to rely on me,” Suguro’s dad said approaching Rin. “I might not be familiar with your demonic powers but I might still be able to help.”

“Th-thank you!” Rin felt incredibly humbled to have Suguro’s dad offering him help like this, he felt a little out of his element.

“No, I should be thanking you. You’re a great man, just like Father Fujimoto.” Suguro’s dad said placing his hand on Rin’s shoulder, before turning to address his son. “Ryuuji, If anything happens, I’m counting on you.”   
  
Suguro looked surprised. “You’re his friend, right?” his dad finished. Suguro flushed lightly before agreeing and turning to get on the bus after Shima and Konekomaru.   
  
Suguro’s dad laughed, “Hmm, it looks like you managed to make up with my son.”

“O-oh yeah I guess,” Rin chuckled, flushing slightly at how happy he realized he was to hear Suguro admit they were friends publicly like that. 

“I know I’ve definitely already asked you enough favors for a lifetime , but look out for Ryuuji will you? He puts a lot on his shoulders and I think he could benefit from relying on someone like you. I know I haven’t handled everything the best but, I just want him to be happy.” Suguro’s dad’s eyes grew distant as if he got lost in thought slightly.   
  
“Of course I’ll do that! And, try to understand him more, I think you two can get to a better understanding that way. O-oh not that you’re already at an understanding or anything, um-”

Suguro’s dad laughed at that, “Relax Rin, I understand what you mean. It was nice to meet you despite the circumstances, and who knows? Maybe we’ll meet again.”  
  
With that Rin said his goodbyes to Tatsuma Suguro and entered the bus walking down the aisle to join his classmates. He slowed slightly seeing at how they were seated towards the back of the bus. Izumo was in the left window seat pointedly looking out of it instead of acknowledging Shiemi who had sat next to her. Konekomaru and Shima were sitting on the right next to each other in the row in front of the seat Suguro was sitting in. And Takara was in the farthest seat in the back, a bag placed obviously next to him to avoid having anyone sit there. And Yukio was somewhere up front talking with Exorcists who had traveled to assist the Kyoto branch.   
  
Suguro must have noticed Rin’s hesitation at where to sit and nodded his head down towards the free seat next to him. Rin’s stomach fluttered slightly and quickly moved to sit down. Rin was silent for a moment fiddling with his phone charm as the rest of the exorcists boarded the bus and it started to head towards Kyoto Station.  
  
Suguro glanced at him before speaking, “H-hey, what was my dad talking to you about before you headed on here? Not the stuff about your sword but…” he asked quietly, shifting in his seat slightly.   
  
“Hmm? Oh, he wants me to keep an eye out for you. Said you stress yourself out way too much.”

“W-what?!” Suguro flushed before lowering his voice, “I do not stress myself out, I just like to know what I’m doing with my life and work hard towards those goals. Ugh of course he would say something like that, he’s so lazy.”

“Relax Bon, he obviously really cares about you, and besides there’s nothing wrong with the way you are just, you can’t go through life alone. Aren’t you the one who told me to rely on my friends more? Take your own advice, princess.”

Suguro blushed, but refused to rise to the bait while he was on a moving vehicle. Their entire class had learned the hard way what getting into argument meant in terms of punishment. No one wanted to see a bariyon ever again. 

“Don’t call me that”

Rin’s tail flicked as he smiled teasingly, “What am I not allowed to call you Bon?”

Suguro’s blush increased, “You know what I meant, but don’t call me that either. It's weird coming from you.”   
  
Rin felt his stomach drop as he looked away mumbling a half hearted apology.

“I didn’t mean it like that, I just- I expect it from people from the Myou Dha, regardless of how things turn out I am the head priest’s son. But, you’re a friend. You’re not part of that hierarchy or whatever, so that’s why it feels weird.”

As quickly as his mood had dropped it reversed and Rin felt his smile returning. 

“Well in that case I’ll just call you Ryuuji and you call me Rin. It’s gotta be annoying always referring to Yukio so properly anyway, this was you can him Okumura instead.”

Ryuuji blushed, clearly not expecting this, before huffing slightly. “ I shouldn’t be surprised, considering how quickly you tried to call Kamiki by her first name, but damn you’re bold when you want to be.”   
  
“So?”   
  
“So what?”

“Are you gonna call me Rin back, Ryuuji?” his eyes were twinkling slightly as he teased Ryuuji, all traces of his former insecurity regarding their friendship gone. 

“Yeah, whatever, Rin.” Ryuuji grumbled, rolling his eyes at the half demon’s antics to mess with him. Rin didn’t reply, just smiled wider as he knocked his shoulder into Ryuuji’s. He was glad he hadn’t messed things up with Ryuuji again, besides he kinda promised his dad he'd keep an eye on him and that’d be difficult if they got into another serious fight.


	2. Douse it in the water

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This happens during the Atami sunrise beach/squid scene, some parts are taken from the manga (kinda like last chapter too) and built upon.

The water in Sagami Bay was so pretty and seemed to go on forever. Rin tilted his head back enjoying the sun on his skin. Although they were technically here on a mission, Shura herself said they could stay in a holiday mood until the kraken showed up anyway. And they got all of Atami Sunrise beach to themselves since all the tourists had to be evacuated anyway. Opening his eyes he spotted Shiemi and was surprised to see her in a swimsuit considering her earlier discomfort. 

“Woah! You’re wearing a swimsuit1”  
  
“I just thought it was silly to be embarrassed and everyone else is wearing them since we’re here on a mission, and um anyway.” she stammered trying to become more comfortable with the situation.   
  
Rin just nodded, as cute as she looked in her swimsuit, he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable and Shima was doing a good enough job of being a general creep.

“Rin, let’s go play in the sea together!” 

Rin flushed slightly as he agreed and the two of them ran towards the water where Shima and Konekomaru had already entered the water. They were splashing around and throwing the beach ball for a short while before they heard Izumo’s loud complaints. Rin turned to see Ryuuji lifting her up by the inner tube she had been sitting in, and huh. Ryuuji had really defined biceps.  
  
“Kamiki-san are you okay?” Shiemi asked the other girl as she cursed out Ryuuji for dumping her into the water. Shiemi grabbed the inner tube before it floated away and gave it back to Izumo. She flushed as she took it from the blonde but didn’t say anything in reply.  
  
It wasn’t until Ryuuji lightly cuffed the back of Rin’s head that he realized that he had been staring at the older boy.  
  
“Hey, what’re you staring at me for?”   
  
Rin blushed and quickly sought to pretend he hadn’t been staring at Ryuuji’s arms or shoulders, or any of his muscles, um-.

“Huh? O-oh sorry aha, I must have zoned out,” Rin chuckled, acting extra clueless as he struggled to stop his heart from racing. Why was it racing?

Ryuuji raised an eyebrow at Rin’s antics, not entirely buying it but also, surprisingly, not interested in arguing with him over it. He huffed slightly before wading deeper into the water, Rin unconsciously following after him.

“Why’d you carry Polka-brows over here anyway?”

“Don’t let her hear that, we’ll never hear the end of it.” Ryuuji flicked some sea water at Rin’s head. “Anyway, she was being childish and called me a gorilla. I figured she needed to calm down a little.”

Rin hummed in agreement as the two of them looked towards Izumo where she was now floating in her inner tube pretending to ignore Shiemi as they played with the beach ball Shima had grabbed. Shiemi turned away from Izumo for a moment to call after Yukio who was still fully dressed on the beach, asking if he wanted to join them. Rin felt immediate annoyance at his younger brother's antics, how could someone be so smart and be completely clueless.   
  


Ryuuji’s nose quirked, “What’s that face for?”  
  
Rin groaned, “Ugh, Yukio’s been totally ignoring me these past few days and I’m tired of it. He’s mad at me but won’t give me the time of day to fucking talk to him. He’s always been like this though. Considering how emotionally immature he is I’ve always found it funny he’s as popular as he is.”

“Hmm, not saying I disagree but, are you sure you also aren’t just jealous? I’ve seen you try to talk to anyone not in our cram class, you’re kind of hopeless you kn-.”

Rin responded by splashing Ryuuji directly in the face before he finished his sentence.   
“Yeah yeah, maybe I am, but that’s not the point here.” he replied as Ryyuuji furiously spat out sea water. Ryuuji retaliated quickly by dragging Rin under the water unexpectedly. With his eye closed under the water Rin felt hyper aware of where the other boy’s hands were on him. Why was he acting this way? Ryuuji was his friend, why did his stomach feel so funny?

Rin’s resurfaced gasping for air, “Oh that’s it, Suguro, you’re going down.”   
  
Ryuuji laughed, “back to surnames are we?” 

Rin responded by tackling the taller boy under the water, the two of them pushing at each other as they resurfaced.

“Hey Bon, Okumura! Me and Koneko are gonna attempt a game of water beach volleyball, wanna play so we have teams?” Shima called towards them, clearly having given up on making any more comments about the girls for now.

“That sounds fun!” Rin’s tail moved in the water splashing Ryuuji slightly before he turned to the other boy, “c’mon Ryuuji we should go play!” he said, smiling widely.

Ryuuji cheeks darkened, “Y-yeah it does sound fun. Let’s go.”

\--

Rin was satisfied, he had defeated the kraken, prevented anyone from getting hurt, and he was able to finally talk with Yukio. And there were still a couple of more weeks until the new term started in September, not that the cram school gave them a break but still, not having to attend the regular classes was nice. 

Kuro ran up to him on the beach meowing, “Oh, hey Kuro where have you been?”   
  
“ _ I was with the others, I tried helping with the squid but biting them made me woozy.” _

“Oh huh I didn’t realize that could happen, are you okay?”  
  
“ _Uhuh, the one who keeps all the cat toys with him helped me up.”_ _  
_ _  
_ Cat toys? Rin had no clue who Kuro meant by that he was gonna have to try and get his familiar to remember more names than just his, Shiro’s and Yukio’s names.   
  
“Hey, Rin,” Ryuuji was standing near Shima and Konekomaru who were waiting in a line to hand back their flamethrowers they had used against the squid that the kraken had summoned. Ryuuji’s hands were empty implying he had already handed his back.

“Hey, are y’all alright? No one got hurt, yeah?”

Ryuuji grimaced lightly, “I should be the one asking you that, dumbass. You ran off again to save the day.”  
  
Rin laughed, “Yeah well, I had to help those people trapped in the helicopter, otherwise…” He trailed off shrugging his shoulders. 

“Yeah I get it, honestly, I was more impressed than pissed off at you for once.” Ryuuji crossed his arms and pointedly looked away from Rin while admitting this.  
  
Rin’s eyes widened, “R-really? Hah, that means a lot coming from you.” The two teens flushed slightly as neither really knew what to say after this. It wasn’t long until Konekomaru joined them.  
  
“Okumura, is your familiar alright? He seemed to get stunned by the squid earlier so I managed to carry him out of the way.”

Rin turned towards the shorter boy, “Oh that was you? Kuro mentioned something about it but uh, he’s pretty bad at names so he called you Cat Toy Boy or whatever and I had no idea what that meant.”  
  
Ryuuji laughed as Konekomaru’s face flushed, “Hah, yeah Miwa’s always had a soft spot for cats so he’s always carrying around cat toys. It doesn’t surprise me that’s how Kuro referred to him. It’s kinda cute.”  
  
“Woah, that’s such a cool thing to do, it’s no wonder I’ve always thought you were a cool dude, Konekomaru!” Rin grinned at him.  
  
Konekomaru’s face was a little pink clearly not expecting to be called out on his love of cats in this way, “Oh, it was no problem, Really, it was the least I could do since Kuro was helping you watch out for Bon during the battle with the Impure King. A-anyway, we better get going. I think I heard Kirigakure-sensei say we were gonna board the train soon and travel back to campus.

Konekomaru turned to walk away and Rin looked over to Ryuuji who had apparently been staring at him.

“So, not to pry or anything but,” Ryuuji started, “I saw you talking with your brother a little while ago. Did it, you know, go how you wanted?” There was a slight flush under Ryuuji’s eyes.

Rin smiled softly at the taller teen, “you know, as tough as you look you’re actually a total softie aren't cha?” Ryuuji opened his mouth to complain as Rin continued, “But yeah, we’re still not at an,” Rin’s nose scrunched up, “agreement or whatever but it’s something.”

Ryuuji’s visible irritation dissipated, “Well, I‘m glad. It seemed that you needed that.” He said thickly.  
  
Rin hummed before grabbing onto Ryuuji’s arm pulling him towards the building where the other Cram students were gathering to change out of their swimsuits. “C’mon we’d better hurry or we’ll get shit seats on the train ride back, sides I’ll tell you more in detail on the trip back, I know you’re totally nosy about it, hah.”

Ryuuji’s flush returned in full but he only half heartedly argued that he wasn’t nosy to the younger teen as he let himself be pulled forward.


	3. Summer daze, don't fade away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter takes place during the rest of summer before (regular) school starts back up in September for the exwires. I googled a lot about how Japanese school terms work to make sense of this lol, but there was a decent amount of time between the Kyoto saga arc (i.e. the very beginning of summer) and the beach visit was quick, so i figured there were a couple of weeks unaccounted for.
> 
> Also if anyone has been able to place which songs my titles have come from lol... feel free to let me know

Rin yawned loudly, it was about a week after the trip back from Kyoto and the Kraken incident, but strangely enough not many cram classes had been scheduled. They had usually been spread out to one a day instead of their usual two each evening not including special assignments. Not that he was complaining per say but it wasn’t expected. The weirdest thing was despite having that conversation with Yukio at Atami beach he felt like he had barely seen his younger brother recently and when he did it was in Anti-Demon Pharmaceutics. He was starting to go sorta stir-crazy since he spent most of his days with Kuro. Scratching his stomach, he realized that he had to get dressed for his afternoon PE class with Sideburns. An added benefit to classes being spread out were the days he was able to sleep in.

Kuro opened a single eye as Rin rose up from his bed and got dressed, “ _ Is it lunchtime Rin?” _

“Yeah, we have time for a quick lunch, c’mon let’s see if Ukobach made something already.” Rin left his room with his familiar following closely after. Soon after the two left the dorms with Rin yelling thanks to the stovetop demon chittering after them.   
  
“Oh hey Okumura-kun.” Shima was also in the cram school aisle obviously having just arrived as well.

“Hey Shima, where’s Konekomaru and Ryuuji,” Rin asked, closing the door behind him and stowing his cram school key back in his pocket.   
  
Shima blinked at the halfling, “Oh uh, they’re already in the gym I think, I wasn’t with ‘em earlier so,” he shrugged trailing off.  
  
“Huh, I guess I always think of y’all as a trio, so it’s weird to think that y’all go places alone.” Rin said as the two of them walked down the hallway.  
  
Shima rolled his eyes, “We are separate people with our own lives y’know, besides anytime I try and buy raunchy magazines at the convenience store with them I always get the hairy eyeball from Bon or the usual ‘You should control your earthly desires more’ spiel from Koneko.” he sighed, “ like I’m the only one who reads this stuff.”  
  
Rin laughs, “But aren’t you, I mean between the three of y’all. I don’t bother trying to sneak dirty manga into the dorm room anymore, Yukio can sniff it out like he’s some kinda bloodhound or something.” Rin shivered, “It’s like he knows as soon it enters the building, and I thought I was the one with inherited demonic powers.”

“You poor, poor man. But yeah Koneko totally has bought some before I’ve found some in our room that I never bought so it had to come from somewhere.” Shima paused thinking the topic over, “Huh now that you mention it, I’ve never seen proof of Bon owning anything but it’s not like I’m gonna snoop through his room either, I’d be killed.”

Rin felt himself blushing suddenly, he didn’t have a reaction earlier so he wondered what was causing it now. Rin quickly changed the subject feeling no longer comfortable as his stomach fluttered, “Hmm I wonder what sideburns is gonna have us do today, or if he’ll run off again to the elusive ‘kitty-cat’.”  
  
Shima hummed, “Yeah mostly I’m just trying to figure out what kinda woman would go for, “ Shima paused for an exaggerated amount of time, “a guy like that.”  
  
Rin snickered and the two of them entered the gym and walked towards where Ryuuji and Konekomaru were standing with Izumo sitting a distance away. Rin’s flush returned for some reason, but he managed to maintain his cool as he zoned out during Sidebaki’s description of the task, yadda yadda running laps, blah blah. And then before he knew it he was running and the only one who was keeping pace with him was Ryuuji. This brought back memories of their first PE class with the reapers.  
  
“Hey Ryuuji, wanna race?”  
  
“Oh you’re on.”

\--

Ryuuji and Rin stood with their hands on their knees as they gasped for air, maybe running at top speed for all of PE class was a mistake.

“Y’know, I actually like running, but maybe trying to compete at speed is uh, a little unsuited for when we have to run 10 laps.” Ryuuji said, speaking through intakes of air.

“Are you admitting defeat?” Rin’s tone turned smug as his breathing returned to normal and the two of them started to slowly walk out of the room.   
  
“Never. But running is all about pacing yourself, I  _ know _ that, I run every morning but,” Ryuuji looked off the side as his face softened to something more fond, “I guess I kinda don’t think as much when I’m focused on competing with you.”

“Woah, you run every morning?” Rin’s eyes widened ,”Hmmm, I guess that does make sense, since you do seem to be in shape.”  
  
Ryuuji’s eyebrows quirked in amusement at that, “You’re a real master of observation, I also practice weight lifting regularly to keep my strength up.”   
  
“Ryuuji,” Rin’s stance stiffened as he stood still and put his hand on Ryuuji's shoulder, “Will you let me work out with you?”

A flush filled Ryuuji’s cheeks, “Huh? Sure? What’s with how you’re asking though, it’s so…” He paused, scrunching his face up, “formal.”

Rin’s tail flitted about, “I was trying to match your intensity, you’re a really intense guy ya know?”

Ryuuji rolled his eyes at the younger teens teasing tone, “Whatever dumbass, gimme your phone.”   
  
“Huh? How come?” Rin asked despite immediately fishing in his pockets to grab out his cellphone. 

Ryuuiji answered as he grabbed Rin’s phone from his hand, “You said you wanted to work out with me so I’m putting my number in your phone. I work out in the mornings and I have a feeling you’d be the type to sleep in.” Ryuuji fiddled with Rin’s phone a moment longer, programming his ringtone to a loud rock song already saved on Rin’s phone. He wanted the best bet if he was gonna have to call him awake.

Rin stared at Ryuuji’s hands as they typed his number into his phone, huh Ryuuji had really nice hands, he hadn’t noticed that before. He was lost in thought for a moment still appreciating how much strength Ryuuji seemed to have in his hands (they looked especially nice when he did his chants and had to perform specific signs), before he processed what Ryuuji had said earlier.   
  
“Wait, how early in the morning?” 

“Well I usually wake up at five thirty in the morning so I don’t start running until about six, but I’ll go easy on you. I’ll be outside of your dorm at seven on Sunday.” Ryuuji handed Rin back his phone and waited expectantly for his response.

“Seven in the morning, on a Sunday? You’re as bad as Yukio.” Rin groaned out, he started to walk towards the door. “Not sleeping in is gonna suck.”   
  
“Hey I’m not forcing you to do anything.” Ryuuji grumbled out feeling a little self conscious at Rin’s comparison.   
  
“Hmm? Nah don’t worry about it. I asked you after all. I’m gonna see this through.” Rin nodded as if hyping himself up and then turned to Ryuuji, “See you Sunday morning!”

\--

  
This was absolutely a mistake. Rin yawned loudly and scratched at his stomach. He was brushing his teeth in the sink, eyes bleary when he felt his phone buzz. It was a text from Ryuuji informing him he was outside. Rin rinsed his mouth out and texted him back informing that, yes he was still awake from the previous morning call, and he’d be out shortly. He sighed and looked up towards the roof, “Why does trying to be the cool guy have to suck sometimes?” He let out another sigh before putting his toothbrush away and running down the stairs. 

“Morning, I’m planning on 5 miles and then we can switch to weights. That sound good to you?” Ryuuji greeted the halfling with the energy of someone who had already been awake for at least an hour. Rin blinked blearily before yawning again.  
  
“Yeah sure, I just need to wake up and I’m hoping the actual running will do that.” Ryuuji hummed in agreement and they both took off remaining in a comfortable silence for a moment. After a couple of minutes of keeping a comfortable pace with Ryuuji, Rin began to wake up, no longer feeling so miserable and groggy.  
  
“Hey, so like, why do you do this? Is this just something fun for you or?” Rin glanced over at the other teen.  
  
“You know how I’m trying to get both an aria and dragoon meister? Well the weight training is to help with that. I want my firearm to be a bazooka.”  
  
“Holy shit. That’s,” Rin paused thinking it over, “I’d say surprising but honestly when it comes to you, it kinda makes sense you’d pick something ridiculous and powerful.”  
  
Ryuuji snorted, “ Yeah okay.” He rolled his eyes, “I don’t wanna hear that from you of all people, Mr. don’t worry about me go on ahead and I’ll catch up.”  
  
“H-hey! That was back when it was a secret okay?,” Rin pouted, “ I was told I couldn’t let anyone know.”  
  
Ryuuji fondly looked over at his friend, knocking his arm against Rin’s as they jogged together. “Don’t sweat it, I was just teasing, besides we both know your self sacrificing bullshit wasn’t just because of keeping your demon heritage a secret.”  
  
Rin pursed his lips and looked away pointedly not wanting to acknowledge Ryuuji’s statement as true. “Whatever let’s head to the gym already, haven’t we run enough?”

\--

When they got to the gym’s weight room Ryuuji explained some of the machines he used along with the specific lifts he did with the weights. Rin wondered if he'd even realistically use the machines or if that might result in him breaking them. He got a lot better than his childhood days of lifting things he was supposed to, but then what was the point of working out if he wasn’t going to challenge himself? He partially mentioned his concerns to Ryuuji who just shrugged before replying that they’d figure something out.  
  
Unsurprisingly the machines didn’t really do anything for Rin. Ryuuji set them up for the highest weight count possible and Rin was easily able to move them, be it pulling on a handle to work his uh tri-somethings Ryuuji called them, or one of the leg machines that had him sitting on a strange position and pushing with his thighs. Ryuuuji decided to switch over to hand weights for a while and showed Rin the proper way to lift them. Rin soon discovered that the 40lb were kinda pointless and contemplated switching them out, however the set available at the gym only went up to 50 so there didn’t seem much point. Instead he looked over to Ryuuji who was in silent concentration as he quietly counted his reps. Rin watched as Ryuuji’s arm extended out and then came back up as his muscles flexed. The older boy had slipped off his track jacket earlier, and was wearing only a tank top with his track pants. Suddenly all Rin could focus on was a stray droplet of sweat dripping down from Ryuuji’s shoulder as it outlined his bicep. Huh. Oh. _Oh. Oh Shit._ _  
  
_

Well, that certainly explained things. Rin looked away for a moment blinking, He wondered if this would change things; if Ryuuji would notice if he hadn’t already. If Ryuuji felt the same way. Fuck. Rin shook his head in a desperate attempt to clear his darkening cheeks, this wasn’t the ideal time to think these things over. He looked back over to see Ryuuji looking at him.   
  
“You finished?” Ryuuji asked as he put his own weights back on the stand. Rin weakly agreed and followed his lead. “Well, that’s it for me normally. I know I showed you some of the leg machines, but leg day is usually tomorrow for me, so...” He trailed off for a moment, “I know the weights probably didn’t do anything for you but you can always join me with running.”   
  
“Oh they did something for me alright,” Rin muttered looking off to the side desperately trying to get rid of any redness that might be in his face. 

“Huh?” The taller teen squinted in confusion at Rin’s muttering.   
  
“Oh uh, yeah that sounds nic-” Rin’s stomach growled loudly interrupting his train of thought, “...you want to head back to my dorm for food?” Ryuuji’s eyes had widened in amusement and he nodded agreeing to Rin’s offer.

“As payment for the food you can tag along to the study group me and Miwa have, Renzou’s technically a part of it too but he usually just zones out or reads manga.”  
  
Rin groaned in complaint as he started to walk back to the old men’s dorm that he and Yukio stayed at. “How come I offer you something nice and instead of repaying me you find new ways to make me suffer?”  
  
“H-hey! This is me doing you a favor, you shithead!” He crossed his arms and glared, “ I know you’re not good at school stuff, both regular school and cram school, so I thought you’d appreciate being included in our study plans since you’d only benefit.”  
  
Rin’s face melted into a small smile, “Yeah, yeah I am forever in your debt oh great bocchan~” He gestured with his arms dramatically playing up his sarcasm.  
  
Ryuuji’s face flushed angrily, “Don’t call me that! I am not your-” he cut himself off, looking frustrated. 

  
Seeing Ryuuji’s face flush like that reminded Rin of the discovery he became aware of moments ago, his own face darkened as he realized he had just invited Ryuuji over to hang out more and oh no what if he let something slip. Should he let something slip? Lost in his own thoughts he didn’t notice Ryuuji stopping.   
  
Ryuuji stood fiddling with the zipper of his open track jacket. “I’m gonna head back to my dorm and shower first, um should I invite Miwa and Renzou over for food before the study session too? I’m sure they’d jump at the chance to eat your cooking again.”   
  
Rin nodded silently, not trusting himself to speak quite yet. As he walked away from his friend, he felt both relieved and frustrated that he wouldn’t be alone with Ryuuji anymore. At least a shower and cooking would help him clear his mind and not hyperfixate on his _ feelings _ .


	4. Caught in the tension

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter :^)  
> This chapter is set in September when the school year starts up again and Rin meets Godaiin.

Ryuuji left his classroom, it was just after class and cram school wasn’t for another hour. He was headed to his dorm to switch out his books for Anti-Demon Pharmaceutics and Demonology. He walked towards one of the many staircases heading down from the highschool’s buildings when he spotted Rin sitting next to another boy on a set of stairs further up. Impulsively he changed direction to head towards the halfling. 

Walking up towards the duo he made eye contact with Rin nodding in greeting to him.  
  
“Yo, Ryuuji,” Rin tilted his head in the other boy’s direction,, “This is my classmate Godaiin, he can see demons now so I was explaining to him that he’s not actually crazy.” He turned his head back to the boy sitting next to him, “This is one my friends, Ryuuji Suguro. He’s also studying to become an exorcist.”  
  
Godaiin looked up at Ryuuji in light shock, “N-nice to meet you Suguro-san.”   
  
Ryuuji felt himself getting irritated, “Hey,” he turned his head pointedly to Rin his voice becoming less gruff, “I have those notes I was going to let you borrow for Magic Circles and Seals,” he shifted his stance on the steps, “ I was gonna stop by my dorm and grab them if you want to come with.” 

Rin’s eyebrows quirked in confusion, “Huh, okay then,” turning to Godaiin, “I’ll talk to my exorcist teacher about your case.”   
  
“Thanks, Okumura is a nice person.” Rin blushed upon hearing this praise. Ryuuji felt the pit in the stomach growing, as he turned to walk towards his dorm. He heard Rin gathering his bag and joining him as he walked down the stairs.

Once they had walked down a flight of stairs Rin tugged on Ryuuji’s sleeve, “Not that I’m complaining about you lending me notes, but uh? That wasn’t something we had agreed on earlier was it?”  
  
Ryuuji flushed, “I just thought it would be nice to offer.” He awkwardly shrugged before continuing, “I meant to text you about it earlier, but I must have forgotten.”  
  
Rin’s eyes squinted slightly for a moment before he smiled widely, “Hmm okay then, lead the way I haven’t been to your dorm before, I wonder what embarrassing things you have.”  
  
“H-Hey! I’m not inviting you to snoop and besides, what embarrassing things! I’m not Renzou y’know!” Ryuuji pushed Rin causing the teen to stumble on the stairs slightly. He paused in mild shock only to be pulled down the rest of the stairs by Rin.  
  
“Woah! Watch it!”  
“Don’t start a fight you don’t intend to win,” Rin sang out, trying to keep from laughing too much. Ryuuji retaliated by grabbing onto Rin and pulling him closer to himself. Rin’s eyes gleamed as he stilled, stopping their play fighting for a moment to stare up at Ryuuji. 

Ryuuji felt his heart thumping as he looked down at Rin. It felt like the situation had changed so drastically in just a few seconds. Rin’s eyes were so blue, and- shit was he still holding onto Rin’s arm?  
  
Rin brought his hand up towards the front of Ryuuji’s shoulder, tracing his fingers down gently eliciting a gasp from the taller teen. Ryuuji’s face reddened to a point he didn’t think possible, he had no idea what Rin was thinking or-

Rin let out a triumphant laugh and he pushed Ryuuji away, raising his arms in a show of victory. Ryuuji was in shock for a second before his face cleared up and he ran towards Rin tackling him to the ground.  
  
“You’re dead Okumura!”  
  
Rin fell towards the ground with Ryuuji landing on top of him. Ryuuji scrambled to catch himself on his forearms before falling onto Rin’s chest. Rin was looking up at him still smiling from his earlier laughter, “I thought we had to head to your dorm first?”  
  
Ryuuji’s flush returned as quickly as it dissipated earlier at Rin’s potentially unintended implication. “W-what?”  
  
“You were gonna give those notes, weren't cha?” Rin’s voice seemed to be almost comically innocent. “C’mon you don’t wanna be late to cram school later, do ya?”  
  
Ryuuji moved up and off of Rin after a short nod, he didn’t trust himself to say anything at the moment. Once he got to his feet he offered his hand to Rin who was sitting up now. 

Rin took his hand, “Hey, you good?”  
  
Ryuuji felt hyperfocused on Rin’s hand in his, it’s weight against his own. He blinked slowly, “Y-yeah,” he cleared his throat, “I’m good. Let’s get going.”  
  


Rin hummed in agreement and it took both of them a minute too long before they let each other’s hands go.    
  
\--

“Woah! You have this whole room to yourself?” Rin walked into Ryuuji’s dorm room and slipped his shoes off and left them on the mat by the door. He walked further into the room glancing at the space and few things Ryuuji had decorating the space. There was a line of CDs stacked up on the bookshelf next to what looked like some suspense or drama manga stacked tidily in a line. Rin walked over to his bed and jumped onto it lahing back as he continued to look around. There was a bottle of pain medicine on the nightstand next to neatly arranged prayer beads. 

“Yeah, I think technically Okumura-sensei was supposed to be my roommate but,” He trailed off shrugging at Rin.

Rin sat up on the bed leaning his weight on his forearms as he looked over to where Ryuuji was gathering his notes and textbooks for their upcoming Holy Scripture Recitation class.

Rin sighed, "It kinda sucks that regular classes started again, huh? This summer was almost fun."

Ryuuji turned to eye the halfling making himself far too comfortable on his bed. "What was the most fun for you? Having to risk our lives battling the Impure King? You punching me in front of everyone and getting shoved into a cell? Or-" Ryuuji cut himself off.

He had almost brought up Rin's execution. The one that hadn't been scheduled but also hadn't exactly been rescinded either. How long did the Grigori need to deliberate anyway? Wasn't saving everyone's lives enough? What more did-

"Or what?"

"Ahh it was nothing, anyway what were you talking about?" Ryuuji shook his head and continued putting away his notes for algebra and chemistry.

Rin shrugged off Ryuuji's typical awkwardness and replied easily, "Hmm definitely sightseeing around Kyoto was the best, and playing in the ocean with everyone was fun too. But ahh," Rin’s tone turned sheepish slightly, "I guess I liked becoming closer with you. I've never really had friends before. So hanging out with you, Koneko, and Shima all at me n' yukio's dorm was... refreshing I guess. Even if it was just a lot of studying, hah."

Ryuuji paused, no longer fidgeting with his notebooks, and turned to look at Rin. “I- that means a lot. I mean, I’m glad we’re friends.” he let out an almost silent sigh, grabbed the notes from the last Magic Circles and Seals and walked over to Rin, who was still lounging comfortably on his bed.

“ Here, the notes I promised you.” he dropped them onto Rin’s stomach.  
  
Rin looked down at them and grabbed them as he properly sat up, shifting one of his ankles under his knee. “Hmm does this mean you’re gonna help me study for whenever the next test is?”  
  
Ryuuji crossed his arms, “Ugh, as if I don’t have enough on my plate.”  
  
Rin’s lower lip jutted out in an exaggerated pout, “Please? I’ll cook you something, whatever you want,” he added on enticingly.  
  
Ryuuji thought it over for a moment, “Fine, but you have to take it seriously. But,” He paused thinking for a moment, “You’re not good at sitting still and concentrating though are you?”  
  
Rin shook his head.  
  
“In that case, we should do something else alongside studying, maybe we can try studying while jogging or weight lifting? That’ll give you something to do and I can quiz you on the info.” Ryuuji nodded to himself as he thought out this plan.  
  
Rin looked up at him seemingly impressed with his thought process, “ Huh, Yukio’s never suggested anything like that before.”  
  
Ryuuji shrugged one shoulder, “ I don’t think different learning types are his specialty, besides he’s probably just busy.” He uncrossed his arms and moved to sit on the bed, his knee knocking against Rin’s. “Anyway, this will only work if you copy down the notes properly. I can’t exactly quiz you on information you absolutely didn’t absorb in class.”  
  
Rin pursed his lips in displeasure, “Yeah, yeah, don’t stress out about it, Princess.”  
  
Ryuuji huffed loudly, “What did I say about calling me that?! I’m not a princess,” he leaned over to flick Rin lightly in the nose, “And besides, I’m doing you a favor here,”  
  
Rin rolled his eyes and grabbed Ryuuji’s hand as it reached his face, “Yeah right, I know you love my cooking, dork. You don’t have to lie about it. Shima never shuts up about me being a perfect housewife in the kitchen.” Scrunching up his nose slightly, Rin moved their hands to his lap.   
  
Ryuuji was at a loss for words, but it went unnoticed to Rin who had continued on to say something about how housewives shouldn’t be looked down on and Shima would be lucky to 

“...Ever find a housewife-like girl that’d actually date his sorry ass.”  
  
The door to Ryuuji’s room opened after a quick knock. It was Konekomaru and Shima.  
  
Ryuuji moved his hand back before they could see, hoping he wasn’t blushing, he felt like he couldn’t stop blushing recently.  
  
“Woah speak of the devil huh? I was just ragging on you dude,” Rin laughed at Shima.  
  
“Huh? What for? I haven't even done anything and besides, me and Koneko here were just coming in, to join Bon before classes started.” Shime pouted as he immediately went on the defensive.  
  
Konekomaru walked into the room after Shima, “Oh hello Okumura-kun, I didn’t realize you were here.” He made eye contact with Shima after greeting Rin and the two of them seemed to be having a silent conversation.

Rin leaned back on his palms and smiled, “Yo Koneko.” Ryuuji stood up quickly. He no longer felt comfortable being close to Rin; he felt like he couldn’t control his reactions around him. He walked towards his desk where his bag with his books lay, “We should go ahead and head over, Okumura-sensei won’t let us get away with being late.”

The trio of other boys nodded though Rin rolled his eyes at the mention of Yukio. Ryuuji grabbed his cram school key and walked towards his door. Rin had turned towards the other boys to ask them a question  
  
“Oh yeah, do either of you know any way to stop someone from seeing demons? There’s this kid in my class who can see them now.”  
  
“Hmm I don’t know, I’ve never heard of that.”  
  
All of their phones went off with a text alert, Ryuuji went to check his phone. It was a group text message from Okumura-sensei, It seemed cram school was canceled for this evening.  
  
“Huh, that was unexpected.” Ryuuji said looking down at his phone.  
  
“Well, I’m going back to my room to read manga.” Shima said, knocking his arm lightly against Konekomaru before turning out of the room.  
  
Konekomaru sighed, “I hate that I know that just means he’s gonna read something raunchy,” he scrunched up his nose and then sighed, “Anyway, I’m going head to the library for a while, I’ll see y’all later.”

Ryuuji squinted his eyes slightly, Shima and Koneko usually weren’t the type to avoid hanging out with him to study. He wasn’t complaining about them leaving per say but, it seemed a little unnatural.  
  
Rin flopped back on the bed looking at Ryuuji questioningly as if to ask what his plans for the evening would be now that class was cancelled.   
  
“Well, c’mon. We shouldn’t waste this time we can study for Magic Circles and Seals like I thought out earlier. We should head to your dorm so you can copy down my notes in your notebook.” Ryuuji rifled through the books in his bag trying to decide what would be the most necessary to bring.  
  
Rin let out a groan from the bed, “Of course you would suggest studying at the prospect of having an empty night, do you even know what fun is?”

Ryuuji narrowed his eyebrows, “Hey I do know how to have fun, this is me doing you a favor as we established earlier. And it just makes sense to use time that was supposed to be class time on studying.” Rin was muttering to himself after Ryuuji’s explanation, but all Ryuuji could make out was “...can’t believe this is who I...” Ryuuji huffed, “I’m not going to apologize for the responsible one.” 

  
Rin sat up narrowing his eyes slightly, “Hey! I can be responsible. I make me and Yukio’s lunches every day don’t I? And sometimes breakfast too, usually when I give Ukobach a head up.”   
  
“I never said you aren’t ever responsible, but you are not at all on top of your school work and you know that.” Rin pouted in complaint that he couldn’t argue with the older boy’s argument. He shifted closer to the edge of the bed and proceeded to get up and started grabbing his bag, making sure to carefully slip in the notes Ryuuji had handed him earlier.  
  
“Well, whatever, you win. Do you have anything in particular you want for dinner? If you’re gonna force me to study we’re eating first.” Ryuuji followed Rin’s lead and slipped his shoes on as they both left his dorm room.   
  
“Nah, I’m good with whatever.”  
  
Rin nodded absently already thinking of what to cook with what he had in the kitchen. “I think I’m gonna make some karaage, I found a recipe online a couple of days back and if I manage to perfect it it’ll be great for Christmas this year.” Ryuuji absently nodded along to Rin’s explanations of having had to be the one in the past to reserve the order for chicken and how it was such a hassle to make sure he did it early enough to make sure they got some. Ryuuji was content to listen along to Rin’s ramblings as they walked together to the old previously abandoned boys dorm, arms occasionally brushing against each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was fully Rin obviously flirting with an oblivious but occasionally jealous Ryuuji
> 
> kudos to anyone who remembers why there would be pain meds on Ryuuji's night stand  
> (the amount of google searching i did to see what info was included on Ryuuji's character sheet/if he even had one as i only own vol 1 of the manga....)
> 
> Hope you liked this chapter! chapter 5 is finished but i do need to edit it so I'll need a couple of days of not looking at it so I can proof it most effectively :)


	5. Light a fire in the coldest hearts, a new flame for molding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter! I hope you all enjoy it :)

The group of exwires had just finished the mess of a ghost exorcism and had been dismissed by Okumura-sensei. Ryuuji was walking back to his dorm alongside Miwa who was helping him carry the still useless Renzo. In the distance he sees Rin and proceeds to dump Renzo’s mostly catatonic figure on Koneko. Ignoring Miwa’s sound of protest he runs to catch up to the other teen.   
  
“Hey, Rin.” He calls out slowing his pace to match Rin’s walking speed. Rin turns his head and slows to accommodate friend. He looks questioningly at the taller teen.

“ Uh, so where’s Okumura-sensei? I figured you'd both be walking back to your dorm.”   
  
Rin huffed frustratedly, “Yukio had some mysterious exorcist business that he, as usual, couldn’t tell me about. That punk doesn’t even let me know if he’ll be back in the morning for breakfast. How am I supposed to know whether or not to bring him a bento for lunch?”   
  
Ryuuji blinked in amusement, He always found it sweet that despite how careless and crass Rin came off he really cared about his younger brother and wanted to do anything to protect him. 

“Hah, you’re so cute when you get like this.”   
  
Rin stopped suddenly, his eyes growing wide as he processed what Ryuuji had just said. “Wait, you think I’m cute?”

Ryuuji’s face flooded red, he didn't mean to speak his thoughts aloud but he didn’t didn’t know how to explain himself. “Um, I mean-” he paused and took a deep breath, he was already in this mess and there was no point in chickening out now. He turned and looked directly into Rin’s eyes. “Yeah, I think you’re cute.”

Rin's face broke out into a huge smile as his cheeks stayed rosy, “You’re not too bad yourself, Rooster-head.”   
  
“Don’t call me that! I just gave you a compliment didn’t I?”   
  
Rin cackled in delight as he reached a hand towards Ryuuji’s face, “Hmm well here take this as my apology.” He leaned up into Ryuuji’s space and pressed their lips together. Just as Rin was leaning away, Ryuuji grabbed the back of Rin’s head, running his fingers through his hair returning his kiss. He felt the younger teen’s lips grow into another smile and broke the kiss.

“I can’t kiss you if you smile, dork” Ryuuji said softly, still running his fingers through Rin’s hair.   
  
“Yeah, well I’m happy, so I doubt I’m gonna stop smiling. I had no idea you liked guys so…” Rin trailed off shrugging his shoulders while his tail wagged behind him showing his contentment.   
  
Ryuuji hummed lightly, “I’m pretty private when it comes to stuff like this, and I’ve always been so focused on becoming an exorcist I never really thought there was time for, well...” not knowing what to define whatever this was between them Ryuuji paused. “Hey, Rin?” The other had closed his eyes in response to Ryuuji combing his fingers in his hair, leaning back into the touch. His eyes opened at Ryuuji’s question wordlessly indicating to the taller teen to continue.   
  


“How long- When did you know that um…”   
  


“I’ve been interested in you since the first time I saw you, I mean yeah we totally got off on the wrong foot and you seriously pissed me off with some of your misconceptions but, you’re cool as hell dude!” Rin 's eyes glittered as he looked at Ryuuji, “But, I think I'm kind of dense when it comes to this kinda stuff cause like I didn’t realize I was into you until like summer? Around when we started working out together?”   
  
Ryuuji blushed, “Uh actually I only realized pretty recently.” he mumbled out embarrassed at the time it took him to realize that his feelings for his friend has deepened into something further.

“Oh, I guess that means we’re both kinda oblivious about these kinds of things.” Rin seemed pleased at not being the only one to be a bit awkward about romantic feelings. “Um, should we head back to my dorm then? We’ve kinda been stopped here and it is the middle of the night.”

  
Ryuuji’s face flushed red with the implications, “Uh-Um, I’m not- Do you really-” He started and stopped multiple times not finding the words.   
  
Rin looked confused at Ryuuji’s hesitations before realization hit him and caused him to stammer too, “Oh no, not- I just meant if you wanted to talk more about us, y’know as a thing. And then you could use one of the spare rooms so you don’t have to walk all the way back to your dorm.”    
  
Ryuuji’s heart started to return back to a normal speed as opposed to the pounding that had begun earlier, “Oh! Oh right of course, um okay. I think maybe it would be better if we just meet up tomorrow? It is kinda late and I didn’t really tell Miwa or Renzou I wouldn’t be back so they would worry. But um, I do care about you. A lot, if that wasn’t obvious.” He felt better after explaining himself and if he was being honest he’d like the extra time to mull over the news that his interest was requited. He’d never dated anyone before so this was all new and Ryuuji wanted to make sure he didn’t mess anything up. It would be best for him to think over his feelings so he could tell Rin in the morning and they could talk about what they wanted and who would know.   
  
Rin nodded, “Yeah you make a good point Ryuuji, um stop by my dorm before class? So we don’t have to worry about an audience and besides I’m sure Yukio’ll be gone early if comes back tonight at all.” Rin pauses, bashful suddenly, “And, um, I could make you breakfast and a bento for you to have at lunch?”    
  


Rin fought to keep a blush from rising to his face, there was no reason for him to get shy over something like this. He’s cooked for Ryuuji before; He knows Ryuuji loves his cooking and wouldn’t turn him down, so why was his heart pounding in his chest?   
  


Ryuuji smiled softly, “Yeah, yeah that sounds nice. I’ll see you tomorrow, does 7 am work?”

The pounding in Rin’s chest hasn’t stopped, but instead of feeling overbearing and full of tension he was exhilarated, excited to plan what he would cook for Ryuuji and to be able to see him again, soon. Not trusting himself not to blurt out something entirely embarrassing, he nodded eagerly and watched and Ryuuji leaned in, placed a chaste kiss on his cheek and turned to walk back to his dorm.

\--

At lunchtime Rin and Ryuuji joined the rest of the exwires at their shared table in the courtyard. Rin had given Ryuuji his bento earlier in the morning after they talked and decided that yes, they were boyfriends now. They were both a little shy about potentially being the center of attention with the friends and Ryuuji had said that announcing something like that out of the blue was awkward and felt strangely performative. They came to agreement that neither of them would deny it if asked but that it felt better for their friends to find out naturally to reduce any fan fare.

Izumi glanced up at them as they sat down joining the group, she was sitting next to Paku and Shiemi while Miwa and Renzou must have been off purchasing yakisoba bread. Her eyes narrowed slightly but she didn’t immediately say anything. Rin unpacked his bento returning a hi to Shiemi’s greeting.    
  
“C’mon Koneko~ let me have some of it, it’s not fair I was standing right next to you.” Renzou’s whining could be heard before they could be seen walking around the corner. It was apparent that Miwa had gotten the last yakisoba bun and Renzou was left without any lunch. “No way Renzou, I got it first and maybe you have paid more attention to the bread available instead of flirting with every girl in the line.”   
  


After sitting down Miwa’s eyes glanced at the lunch Ryuuji was eating and then at Rin’s. Watching this, Izumi finally decided to speak, “So what, are you two dating now? What’s gonna be your first date, some ridiculous plan to defeat Satan?”    
  
The table erupted into chaos. Rin immediately started choking on his last bite of rice, Shiemi was half partially making sure he didn’t suffocate while also excitedly saying “What? Really? Oh I’m so happy for you two!” Renzou groaned while handing a decidedly smug Miwa ¥1000. Ryuuji seeing this exchange happen in front of him alternated between defensively yelling at Izumi for her comment and his two childhood friends for apparently betting on his love life.   
  
This was the scene Yukio walked up to. “Um, do I want to ask?” Everyone paused at his arrival. Rin sipped at some water finally getting over his coughing fit, delaying answering his younger brother. Izumi blinked, “ No offense, but can’t you tell? Your brother and the Gorilla are finally dating now.”   
  
“Don’t call me Gorilla! And what do you mean finally?”   
  
“Bon, why couldn’t have you waited a little longer? I was sure your tsundere tendencies would give me at least another month before you and Rin caught on.”   
  
Rin’s face was a deep red as the table went off again; Miwa agreeing with Izumi that it was easy to tell what with their body language and the matching bentos. Shiemi asking questions about how long everyone know, and that she couldn’t believe she had missed the signs   
  
“Huh. I would’ve thought it was going to take way longer for you two to realize you have feelings for each other.” Yukio said, smirking slightly as he teased his brother. Rin recovered at that, immediately reminding Yukio of the missing bento mishap involving those freshman girls who were obsessed with making him bentos.    
  
Paku sat smiling at all the antics of her chaotic friends. She looked over at Rin who after finishing ragging on Yukio and knocked shoulders with Ryuuji in an effort to calm him. She was glad for them, she hadn’t been lying when she told Izumi that she thought Rin was kind of cute and it was sweet that a guy as popular as Ryuuji had been the one to fall for him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My favorite scene I wrote for this chapter was the ending, imaging the chaos the exwires get up to is cute and I like reinforcing the concept that they are actually good friends with each other.
> 
> I also wanted to keep Rin and Ryuuji a bit awkward because I think they would be in the beginning of their relationship since neither of them would likely have experience dating anybody. (Ryuuji probably is good at gently rejecting the occasional girl who would confess to him, well his version of gentle lol.)
> 
> I feel accomplished to have finished my first fic in so long, I hope to get better at writing too, so let me know what you think and thanks for reading!


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